When we left the theatre, the sky was dark. There was a group of people wearing strange costumes outside. They weredancing and singingas afew floats carrying drums moved behind them.Some burly andshirtlessmen were hitting the drums. Another float had a woman wearing a red costume with fox ears and a big tail. Shewas shakingher appealing body anddancinglike a water snake.

All of the people on the street were stirred up. They cheered and roared as theysurroundedthe floats.

I guessed it was afestival. Since wehad to wait forLi Mazi’sgroup, Chuyi and I went to buy oden from a food stall. We ate and watchedthe street performance.

The chef of the food stall talked to us. I told him I didn’t speak Japanese. He realized itandtook out a piece of paper. Hewrote something then gave me the note.

Although it was in Japanese, there were a few traditional Chinesecharacters. I could somewhat understand. He said that this was the annual Inari OkamiFestival, also known as theGod of Rice Festival. We were lucky that we came here in thisperiod.

I wrote a line that asked,“Is it forthe sake of having agood harvest?”

The chef didn’tunderstand. Chuyi took the pen and re-wrote it with traditional Chinese letters. The chef noddedand wrote, “Right, do Chinese people worship Inari Okami too?”

I also used traditional Chinesecharactersto answer him. I oftenreadthe old books my grandpa had left me. Thatwaswhy I knew traditional Chinesecharacters. I told himthatfox immortals were famous in China and that we used to worship many statues. However, after theReform, peoplestoppedbelievinginthis stuff, except for the villages in the Northeast. At the same time, I showed my interest and respectforJapanese traditional culture.

The chef said, “Arigato!”Then he wrote, “I really like Chinese cuisine. There are so many techniquesand different dishes.It’s different from the simple techniques we have in Japan.”

He even expressed his fondnessforChinese soapoperaslike “My Fair Princess” and “Nirvana in Fire.” These werepopulardramas in Japan for a while. He thought that the scenesinChinese dramas were all spectacularly filmed,unlike theirnational dramas.

Then, he replayed a scenefrom“My Fair Princess”. He raised his handand usedhis stiff Chinese to say, “Ziwei, don’t go!” We burst out laughingand thoughtthat this chef wasreallyinteresting.

I wrote on the paper that I loved reading manga and watching anime. Naruto and Cooking Master Boy were my favorites. They were good memoriesfrommy childhood.I also wrote thatthe gaming industry in Japanwassuperb. When I was young,I oftenplayedSuper Mario, Contra, King of Fighters,and more.Of course, I didn’t tell himabout the manyJAVmovieson mycomputer...

We were chatting to our hearts’ contentsand exchanged our interests in eachother’scultureeven though there was a language barrier. Later on, Xiao Gao told me that Japanese people used bothKanjiand their own Katakana. Chinese people couldreadKanji, so therewould be no hindrancetoreading. For example, Dr. Sun Yat-sen used to communicate with Japanese fishermen by writingaswe had just done with the Japanese chef. EvenLiang Qichao,whotranslated many Japanese books, didn’t learn or know Japanese.The chef gifted us two bottles of wine. I didn’t bring anything to repay this favor, and it wasn’t appropriate to give him money. As such, I gave him aKsitigarbhaTalismanand wrotehim a note: This is a spirit talisman that can protect you from incidents and ghosts.

The chef held the talisman in his hands as if it was a little treasure.He carefullyadheredittohis food cart.

“Heh, this chef is nice,”I told Chuyi.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

We drank wine and ateoden. Then, we continuedto watch the festival as it had come toagreat part. Many Japanese people were dressed like ancient deities, shuttlingthrough the crowd. I saw Amaterasu, theGoddess of the Sun and Universe, as well as Princess KaguyaandSusanoo.I didn’t know the rest. On a black float,anactor and actressfought asAbe no Seimei and Tamamo no Mae. Their moves were really beautiful and impressive.

Chuyi suddenly pointed in a direction and asked me to look. I saw a float slowly moving toward us. A white fox was lying on a lotus pod on that float. A few witches were dancing gently around that fox with their magical instruments. That white fox looked the sameasthe fox spirit we had encountered in Osaka!

When he saw us, he squinted as if he was giving us a mocking smile. Iquicklyturned and asked the chef,“What’s that fox’sorigin?”

The chef answered that the fox was from a shrine that was very famous here.Hesaid that many peoplecameto worship it.magic

“Has this fox ever left Kyoto?”

The chef was bewildered for a while. He laughed, pointed at the float, and askedme to look carefully. I then recognized it was just an exquisitely made ceramic fox.

The chefquickly wroteonthe paper. “It’s not a real fox. It’s made of ceramic. They found that fox in the ruins of a palace. They brought it into a shrine and started to worship it. It has become the spiritual mascot of Kyoto since then. We can see it outside the shrine only once a year, and that day happens to betoday!”

“It’s an otherworldly item. Moreover, it’s really powerful,” said Chuyi.“It’s possible the white fox spirit we metyesterday came from here…”

I noddedandcouldn’t believe that we were lucky enough to see an otherworldly item in Japan. An expert’s knowledge determines what he sees. It’s like how ageologist will notice the soilandhow abotanist will pay attention to the plants wherever they go.

With such a concept, after two years in this business, I could be considereda qualified otherworldly merchant.After the parade passed us, Ifelt a little reluctant.After a while, Li Mazi’sgroup returned.They hadshopped aroundandcame backwith bags of all sizes. They looked as though they hada goodtime.

I told them about the awesome event they missed. Ru Xue wasn’t convinced. “What goodis there aboutfloats? I’ve seen themon TV many times!”

“Oh yeah? We’re going to eat seafood tonight. You can just watch useat. It’s the same, right?” I shrugged.

Ru Xue fumedand glaredat me. She askedLi Mazi for help. Li Mazi was reluctant. “LittleBrother Zhang, could you pleasego along withmy wife sothatshewillfeel better? You know how narrow-minded she is.”

“Who’s narrow-minded?!” Ru Xue took out a wooden hammerand started to chase and hitLi Mazi. Li Mazi ranand screamedfor mercy. Theyranlike that for a while.

I sighed.Sometimes, I wonder if they’re lovers and foes.

We said goodbye to the chef then wenttosupper. After that, we returnedto the hotel to rest.

Everybody was excited, so we didn’t want to go to bed right away.We decided to visit the hotel’s bar for a few drinks.

Li Mazi stared at thebeautiful women walking around. Ru Xue pulled his earand gavehim a lesson. Japanese womenworespecial makeup which made them lookreally good.It wasno wonderthatJapanese makeup techniques were popularin China.

I asked Yin Xinyue for permission. “Boss, can I watch?”

“You can!” Yin Xinyue generously waved her hand. “I also think that theylook pretty with makeup. I want to learn from them.”

After a while, Ru Xue said that she was tiredand askedLi Mazi tohead backto their room to rest. The married couple wanted to spend timebythemselves, so wedidn'tstopthem. I ordered another round of cocktails and a glass of orange juice.

I had justtakena sipwhenmy phone rang. It was Li Mazi’s call. I thoughtthat the manwas crazy. We were staying in the same hotel, and he still made a phone call to me. He must have thought international calls were cheapor something.

Since thephone kept ringing, I had to accept the call. “What’s wrong, man?”

“LittleBrother Zhang,this is bad. We’re trapped!” Li Mazi sounded anxious.

“You are stuck in the elevator? Don’t worry.I'll askthe hotel staff to help you right now!” I was also startled.

“No, no. The stairs, we are trapped at the stairs!”